What you can do

A Message from the Chairperson of the Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS campaign

When UNICEF Canada asked me to chair the Canadian Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS campaign, part of UNICEF's global campaign and global response for children affected by AIDS, I had no hesitation. This is how I can engage Canadians, to take action against the AIDS pandemic; by advocating, fundraising and supporting UNICEF programmes around the world to help make this the last generation to bear the brunt of AIDS.

I have been involved with UNICEF for several years but my support for the organization was galvanized during a March 2006 trip to Namibia to film a documentary entitled 'Hope in the Time of AIDS'. While in Namibia, I visited UNICEF-supported projects that were truly making a difference in the lives of children, including the incredibly successful My Future is My Choice, a youth prevention programme that has reached more than 170,000 young people aged 15 and older with information and skills around reproductive health, HIV and AIDS, decision making and communication so they can make positive decisions about their future. This programme is making a difference for young Namibians, as seen in the decrease of HIV rates in youth aged 20-24, many of whom would have undergone My Future is My Choice when they were still at school.

It is this kind of innovative programming that UNICEF is implementing that will make a difference for children and young people.

In Hope in the Time of AIDS, former UNICEF Deputy Executive Director and AIDS activist Stephen Lewis says "the introduction of the Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS campaign has the promise of turning everything around."

I share Stephen's optimism as we work towards our goal of raising $25 million. I will work tirelessly until every Canadian knows the difference UNICEF is making in the lives of children affected by AIDS. I hope you'll unite with me in this important work.

Thank you for your support,
Alison Lawton
UNITE for Children, UNITE against AIDS campaign Chairperson
UNICEF Canada

Alison is an accomplished business executive, financier, philanthropist and documentary filmmaker. In 2006, she produced 'Uganda Rising', a documentary which chronicles the 20-year civil war in Northern Uganda between the Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan government.